Category Archives: Uncategorized

This Is The Althing! Special Reissue



After Dean and Tom kicked off last month’s episode by recalling their very first island-hopping episode, “Island Hopping: Iceland & Malta,” we felt it’d be the perfect time for a special reissue. Here is that legendary land-leaping conversation from September 2018, provided for you in its entirety. Enjoy!

Don’t despair, dear listeners! While the days may be getting shorter, Dean and Tom are back to boost your spirits in this episode as they “island hop” from incredible Iceland to majestic Malta (5:20). Along the way, they explore the world’s first parliament, eat rancid shark, and get their passports stamped in an apartment house that’s also a sovereign state (15:40, 23:30, 39:05)!

Listen today to “island hop” with Dean and Tom! Have a cultural question or episode idea for Dean and Tom? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com


39: Fifth Anniversary Game Show!, Or “Culture At Its Best” (Part 2 of 2)



Drumroll please! In the thrilling conclusion of this two-part series, we crown the winner of last month’s game show, and discover what Dean and Tom can possibly remember about the first ten episodes of their own podcast – all in celebration of FIVE YEARS of ‘Oops, Your Culture’s Showing!’. Plus, vital questions for humanity are broached in this episode, such as: Is five years, in fact, “more than enough”? IS this “the final episode of the podcast”? (The answer to both: Umm, no! We’ll return with new episodes very soon.) Here’s to the next five years of “culture at its best”!
We invite you to play along with Dean and Tom – AND, a quick reminder that THIRTY-SEVEN PAST EPISODES of the podcast are now up on our NEW YouTube channel here, for your listening (or re-listening) pleasure. Enjoy!
Have a cultural question or episode idea? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com


38: Fifth Anniversary Game Show!, Or “Culture At Its Best” (Part 1 of 2)



Join us, dear listeners, as we celebrate FIVE YEARS since the launch of ‘Oops, Your Culture’s Showing!’…with a game show! In part one of this jubilant two-parter, Dean and Tom begin accessing their “brain castles” to recall what in the world (literally) they gabbed about in selected episodes over these past five years. We invite you to play along with them – AND, a quick reminder that ALL THIRTY-SEVEN PAST EPISODES are now up on our NEW YouTube channel here, for your listening (or re-listening) pleasure. Enjoy!

Have a cultural question or episode idea? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com


37: Lagom, Or “The Goldilocks Zone”



Want more Oops Your Culture’s Showing!, but not too much? In this episode, Dean and Tom deliver just that as they comfortably wade into an exploration of how the Swedish ethos of ‘lagom’, which roughly translates as “just the right amount,” relates to Scandinavian, Dutch, and in some ways, Japanese cultures. Plus, after returning to fan-favorite segment Wordplay!, they can’t help but go a little overboard when briefly introducing new segments Analogy Hell and Therapy Time. We’ve already overstayed our welcome in this episode description, so we’ll simply encourage you to (calmly, cozily, relaxingly) dive in and enjoy!

(Here is the referenced ‘lagom’ article by Jonny Thomson on Big Think, from August 2022.)

Check out our NEW YouTube channel here (and/or the playlist below)! In honor of the pod’s upcoming 5th anniversary in late March 2023, we’re posting 2-3 of our original episodes, in the order they were released, each and every Wednesday into March. Our first TWENTY-EIGHT episodes are up now! If you haven’t heard them yet, or even if you have, head there & click Play today, and bring a friend along with you – thanks!

Have a cultural question or episode idea? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com


Thank You Jacinda! Special Reissue



New Zealand’s iconic prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has announced she’s stepping down in the coming days. In honor of her 5+ years of Kiwi leadership, we’re heading back ‘down under’ with a special reissue of our “Island Hopping: New Zealand” episode from November 2019. Enjoy!

We’re back with a special “island hopping” episode: between the North and South Islands of New Zealand! Dean and Tom dive into Dean’s recent travels along the stunning TranzAlpine railway, and to the hub of extreme adventure activities in Queenstown on the South Island (where Dean may or may not have bungee jumped in the nude). Then, they visit the All Blacks rugby team and the haka, as well as cultural dynamics between ancestral Europeans and the Maori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa (Maori for New Zealand). Like the flightless kiwi bird – an icon of New Zealand – you’ll want to stay grounded in this episode!

Check out our NEW YouTube channel here (and/or the playlist below)! In honor of the pod’s upcoming 5th anniversary in late March 2023, we’re posting 2-3 of our original episodes, in the order they were released, each and every Wednesday into March. Our first TWENTY episodes are up now! If you haven’t heard them yet, or even if you have, head there & click Play today, and bring a friend along with you – thanks!

Listen today to “island hop” with Dean and Tom! Have a cultural question or episode idea? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com


Joy To The World! Supersized Holiday Reissue



Happy holidays, dear listeners! We’re doubling your dose of joy this holiday season with BOTH parts of our ‘two-part gleeful gabfest’ from Nov/Dec 2021, “Joy To The World!” – packaged together in this supersized, super-special reissue. Both episode descriptions are below, plus the link to our new YouTube channel (while on a plane ride or road trip these holidays, head there to hear or rehear our original episodes!). A very happy new year to all, and we’ll be back with new episodes in 2023!

PART ONE: What’s so funny? In this jolly episode, Dean and Tom gleefully gab about what is, and is not, considered funny across cultures – and how laughter can also be interpreted differently depending on where you are. Plus, Grammar Time makes a brief cameo! You don’t have to wait anymore for the punchline; it’s here for you. En-joy!

PART TWO: In the finale of their two-part gleeful gabfest, Dean and Tom continue to delight in the complexities of humor, language, and culture. Then, they elatedly explore similarities and differences in how joy is expressed communally across cultures, in Bhutan, Denmark, Brazil, and the U.S., and in birthday celebrations in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. Happy holidays everyone!

Check out our NEW YouTube channel here (and/or the playlist below)! In honor of the pod’s upcoming 5th anniversary in late March 2023, we’re posting 2-3 of our original episodes, in the order they were released, each and every Wednesday into March. Our first TEN episodes are up now! If you haven’t heard them yet, or even if you have, head there & click Play today, and bring a friend along with you – thanks!

Have a cultural question or episode idea for Dean and Tom? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com


36: “Holidays of gratitude”



Happy Thanksgiving to our US American listeners! In this episode, Dean dishes to Tom about both experiencing US American holidays like Thanksgiving while in different countries, as well as immersing himself in different countries’ holidays over the years – from Slovakia to India to China, and many more! Plus, Tom searches for wordplay (but does he find it?) and producer Torin calls out semantic satiation when he hears it (but can he say “satiation”?). Enjoy gobbling up this episode, and thank you for listening!

Check out our NEW YouTube channel here (and/or the playlist below)! In honor of the pod’s upcoming 5th anniversary in late March 2023, we’re posting 2-3 of our original episodes, in the order they were released, each and every Wednesday into March. Our first two episodes ever (“Shaving & Japanese Toilets” and “Tea & Magnetic Pole Flips”) are up now! If you haven’t heard them yet, or even if you have, head there & click Play today, and bring a friend along with you – thanks!

Have a cultural question or episode idea for Dean and Tom? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com


35: “‘Work to live’ cultures, and ‘live to work’ cultures”



Listening to this while eating lunch in the workplace? Fais attention (be careful!) because if you’re in France, that’s illegal. In this episode, Dean and Tom get to work contrasting how countries from France to Japan to the US value, and even legislate, work-life balance – and, bien sûr (of course!), how it’s all grounded in culture. Plus, a Grammar Time segment somehow sneaks up on all of us…est-ce possible?

(Here are the referenced NPR articles on the French lunch law and the Portuguese ‘right to disconnect’ law, from June 2022.)

Have a cultural question or episode idea for Dean and Tom? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com


34: “There’s no chicken lane in Amsterdam!”



Why did Dean, the global cultures expert, cross the road? To chat with Tom about navigating street crossings in cities from Rome to Hong Kong, and the corresponding cultural implications – of course! Plus: Don’t miss the exciting premiere of Wordplay!, a subset of Grammar Time, later in the episode. We’re giving you the walk sign to stroll through this episode and enjoy it, hopefully without jaywalking involved (but if you do, we won’t – and can’t – tell on you).

Have a cultural question or episode idea for Dean and Tom? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com


Taxi Please! Special Reissue



We hope you’re staying as cool as can be, listeners! Since Dean and Tom will be chatting about global transportation customs in next month’s brand-new episode, we’re ‘crossing the road’ to there with a special reissue this month of our “Taxis & Malaysian Smiles” episode from May 2018. Enjoy this off-the-rails (or whichever transportation idiom you prefer) episode, hopefully while sipping on an ice-cold beverage!

In this episode, Dean and Tom share taxi adventures and delve into what to do, and not do, when in the backseat, or maybe the front seat, in India, Australia, and Japan – all while they swat away malarial mosquitos and sing “Oh My Darling, Clementine” (6:22). Next, Dean answers a listener’s question about cultural differences around smiling and laughing in Malaysia and the U.S. (19:57). Then, the topic of men’s outerwear somehow comes up, so put on your culturally-appropriate listening shorts and enjoy!

Have a cultural question or episode idea for Dean and Tom? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com